A silent cry for leadership : organizing for leading (in) clusters

Leadership research so far has neglected clusters as a particular context for leadership, while research on networks and clusters has hardly studied leadership issues. This paper fills this dual gap in the abundant research on leadership on the one hand and on networks/clusters on the other by investigating leadership in photonics clusters from a structuration perspective. Apart from giving an insight into the variety and patterns of leadership practices observed, the paper addresses the dilemma that regional innovation systems such as clusters usually have a critical need of some kind of leadership, but that neither individual nor organizational actors wish to be led. This dilemma can only be ‘managed’ by organizing for leading (in) clusters in a certain way

A Taxonomy-Driven Approach to Visually Prototyping Pervasive Computing Applications

International audienceVarious forms of pervasive computing environments are be- ing deployed in an increasing number of areas including healthcare, home automation, and military. This evolution makes the development of pervasive computing applications challenging because it requires to manage a range of heterogeneous entities with a wide variety of functionalities. This paper presents Pantagruel, an approach to integrating a taxonomical description of a pervasive computing environment into a visual programming language. A taxonomy describes the relevant entities of a given pervasive computing area and serves as a parameter to a sensor controller-actuator development paradigm. The orchestration of areaspecific entities is supported by high-level constructs, customized with respect to taxonomical information. We have implemented a visual environment to develop taxonomies and orchestration rules. Furthermore, we have developed a compiler for Pantagruel and successfully used it for applications in various pervasive computing areas, such as home automation and building management

Promoting Effective Digital-Age Learning: A European Framework for Digitally-Competent Educational Organisations

Digital technologies are being incorporated in exciting and promising ways at all levels of education. To consolidate progress and to ensure scale and sustainability education institutions need to review their organisational strategies in order to enhance their capacity for innovation and to exploit the full potential of digital technologies and content. This report presents the European Framework for Digitally-Competent Educational Organisations (DigCompOrg). This framework can facilitate transparency and comparability between related initiatives throughout Europe and play a role in addressing fragmentation and uneven development across the Member States. The primary purposes of DigCompOrg framework are (i) to encourage self-reflection and self-assessment within educational organisations as they progressively deepen their engagement with digital learning and pedagogies (ii) to enable policy makers to design, implement and evaluate policy interventions for the integration and effective use of digital learning technologies.JRC.J.3-Information Societ

A platform for change: How identifying and aligning technology building blocks provides a digital platform of change in the construction industry

The construction industry is currently in turmoil, searching in every direction for that ‘silver bullet’ or digital solution, to bring efficiency, productivity and in some ways stability to the sector. It was the World Economic Forum report of 2016, that drew major attention to the industry, mainly because it highlighted some of the inadequacies of the sector and its inability to transform as so many other industries have. It also referenced so many megatrends that would ultimately impact over the coming years. Ironically construction is rated at 21 of 22 industries with respect to digitization deployment according to McKinsey Global. Coinciding with this desire to better itself, it is also trying to eliminate data silos, incorrect information and integrate new technology, systems, as well as materials and products. It is, however, struggling to achieve results in order to cope with new pressures from Global trends, like urban migration, population increase and an emerging digital landscape. The existing stakeholders are struggling with low margins, poor interoperability and the adoption of sporadic technology within industry silos to resolve the issues within their boundaries. Under these conditions, it is highly unlikely that a ‘silver bullet’ will appear: therefore the industry should do what it does best on sites around the world and this is to problem solve. There are enough singular solutions in place and lead users to prove their capabilities, so rather than inventing a new digital solution, the industry must build it from existing pieces. This report aims to capture the pressures the industries forces, to identify significant problems and address these with a collection of solutions, which, when combined have the potential to be transformational platform for the industry. Having spent 13 years in construction, reinvention requires a review of global construction practices; highlighting the collaborations that exist in the field and office to identify technological tools required for transformation. The project will look at the factors impacting the sector, the changing environment of the industry, its lead users and changemakers in order to demonstrate that the solution to help the industry overcome its problems already exists and is just a matter of building it. However, before we build up the solution, one must first dig down to for a solid foundation, which can only be built of data

A Kind of Construction in Light and Shade : An Analytical Dialogue with Recording Studio Aesthetics in Two Songs by Led Zeppelin

This dissertation examines how the sound of a recording contributes meaning to the song, working in conjunction with the song’s lyrics, harmonic and rhythmic structures, album artwork, and within its cultural context. Two songs by the rock group Led Zeppelin, “When the Levee Breaks” and “Stairway to Heaven,” are taken as analytical examples in which special attention is paid to the acoustic properties of the recordings, that is, where the instruments are situated within the stereo sound field; how they are timbrally manipulated with effects such as reverb, echo, distortion, and chorus; their relative levels of prominence; and how these factors interact to create meaning in the song. The intent is to bring into relief the complex and myriad ways that recording studio aesthetics shape both our perception of, and appreciation for, two of the most prominent songs in this group’s rich repertoire. By considering the recorded sound among the other factors that comprise these analyses, I also seek to demonstrate the value of parameters other than pitch and rhythm in analyses of this repertoire in particular. This project requires extremely close listening to the recordings in order to discern how various studio effects are employed in the context of each song’s particular aesthetics. I take as my methodological departure point Albin Zak’s book, The Poetics of Rock, in which are found analyses of studio production techniques in various rock songs, and Susan Fast’s book, In the Houses of the Holy, in which many facets of Led Zeppelin’s music are examined, including semiotics and the relationship between timbre and text

Machine Performers: Agents in a Multiple Ontological State

In this thesis, the author explores and develops new attributes for machine performers and merges the trans-disciplinary fields of the performing arts and artificial intelligence. The main aim is to redefine the term “embodiment” for robots on the stage and to demonstrate that this term requires broadening in various fields of research. This redefining has required a multifaceted theoretical analysis of embodiment in the field of artificial intelligence (e.g. the uncanny valley), as well as the construction of new robots for the stage by the author. It is hoped that these practical experimental examples will generate more research by others in similar fields. Even though the historical lineage of robotics is engraved with theatrical strategies and dramaturgy, further application of constructive principles from the performing arts and evidence from psychology and neurology can shift the perception of robotic agents both on stage and in other cultural environments. In this light, the relation between representation, movement and behaviour of bodies has been further explored to establish links between constructed bodies (as in artificial intelligence) and perceived bodies (as performers on the theatrical stage). In the course of this research, several practical works have been designed and built, and subsequently presented to live audiences and research communities. Audience reactions have been analysed with surveys and discussions. Interviews have also been conducted with choreographers, curators and scientists about the value of machine performers. The main conclusions from this study are that fakery and mystification can be used as persuasive elements to enhance agency. Morphologies can also be applied that tightly couple brain and sensorimotor actions and lead to a stronger stage presence. In fact, if this lack of presence is left out of human replicants, it causes an “uncanny” lack of agency. Furthermore, the addition of stage presence leads to stronger identification from audiences, even for bodies dissimilar to their own. The author demonstrates that audience reactions are enhanced by building these effects into machine body structures: rather than identification through mimicry, this causes them to have more unambiguously biological associations. Alongside these traits, atmospheres such as those created by a cast of machine performers tend to cause even more intensely visceral responses. In this thesis, “embodiment” has emerged as a paradigm shift – as well as within this shift – and morphological computing has been explored as a method to deepen this visceral immersion. Therefore, this dissertation considers and builds machine performers as “true” performers for the stage, rather than mere objects with an aura. Their singular and customized embodiment can enable the development of non-anthropocentric performances that encompass the abstract and conceptual patterns in motion and generate – as from human performers – empathy, identification and experiential reactions in live audiences